Mast mounting for television antennas



a- 15, 1950 F. R. FELBER 2,518,875

MAST MOUNTING FOR TELEVISION ANTENNAS Filed Feb. 10, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet1 ER/1K 1355 Patented Aug. 15, 1950 j i lTEo STATES PATENT OFFICE MASTMOUNTING non TELEVISION ANTENNAS Frank R. Felber, Union, N. J.

Application February 10, 1949, Serial No. 75,549

f'In mounting antennas or aerials for television,

radio and the like, it has been customary to secure the mounting poleori'na'st to the outside of thefichimney by fastening means, for exampleby metal bands having clamps forthe mast, which frequently weaken orotherwise damage the chimney, are difficult to install, and areunsightly.

It is a prime object of the present invention tofiprovide apparatus formounting a television mast whereby the mast can be erected on and easilyand quickl removed from a chimney with-" out damage to the chimney. 7

:"Another object of the invention is to provide such a mountingapparatus that can easily be installed inside of a chimney and out ofsight.

"Another object is to provide a. mounting that will securely and firmlyhold the mast in upright position.

Another object is to provide novel and improved means for easilyand'securely mounting a mast inside a chimney of ordinary constructionfor example inside the tile flue or lining without the use of nails,bolts or other separate fastening elements. H

' Another object is to provide apparatus for mounting a mast that iseasily installed by an unskilled worker, is composed of separable partsthat can readily be disassembled and knocked the sleeve.

; Figure 1 is a top plan view of a. chimney iwith a} mast supportedtherein by apparatus embddying my invention, the mast being shown insection.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken across the flue of the chimney.

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the plane ofthe line 3-3 of Figure l.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 4--4 ofFigure 3.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the mast clamping andsupporting plates.

Referring to the drawings, in Figure 1, a tub'ular mast I for supportingtelevision antenna is shown extending downwardly into a squareshapedflue 2 of an ordinary brick chimney 3, the mast being supported insidethe flue and se- 2 curely clamped to the wall 4 of the flue by theimproved apparatus. I The improvedapparatus includes a pair of elongatedplates 5 and 6 which are adapted to be inserted downwardly into the flue2. Plate 5' is curved longitudinally to form a body substan-' tiallysemispherical in cross-section having a concave face I and a convex face8. The -diameter of the arc of the body of the plate is slightly'smallerthan the diameter of thearc of the mast so that the side edges of theplate will grip the outer surface of the mast. one end of plate 5, theleadinig end as it is' the end which is: inserted first into the flue,is closed with an integral shelf or seat 9. The opposite end, ortrailing end of the plate, is formed with opposed laterally projectingextensions or straps Ill provided withhooked'ends II. These straps areadapted to be hooked over the top edges of the wall '4 of the flue forsecurely suspending the plate inside of the flue. An internallyscrew-threaded tubular boss I2 extends laterally from the convex face 8of plate 5 intermediate its ends.

The other plate 6 of the pair of plates is of the same length andis'constructed similarly to plate 5 but instead of having a boss I2, itis provided with a solid stud I3 projecting laterally from its concave*face I4 at the same point along its body. Plate 6 has no shelf or seaton its leading end and the straps I5 on its opposite end are shorterthan the straps II] of plate -5.

A turnbuckle assembly is used with the plates 5 and 6 for clamping themast I to the wall of the chimney flue. As shown in detail in Figure 3,it comprises an elongated tubular housing or sleeve I6 and an externallyscrewthreaded stem 011' rod ll, of the same length as and slidable inSpaced nuts [-8 and I9 are mounted on the rod to'move longitudinallythereof.

In assembling the pair of plates 5 and 6 for supporting the mast Iinside the flue 2 of the chimney, a portion of the rod I1 is slid insidethe sleeve I6 leaving one end of the sleeve unobstructed and with aportion of the rod extending outside of the opposite end of the sleeve.The unobstructed end of the sleeve is slipped over the stud I3 on plate6 with its other end juxtaposed to the nut I9; and the end of theprotruding portion of the rod is threaded into the boss I2 of plate 5,after which nut I8 may be tightened to fasten the rod in said boss. Whenthe plates are so connected, manual rotation of the nut IS in onedirection will cause the nut to push the sleeve and spread the platesapart and rotation in the opposite direction will permit the plates tomove toward each other. The plates are initially spaced apart a distancesuhicient to easily fit inside the flue of the chimney betweendiagonally disposed corners thereof with a space between the plate andits adjacent corner surficient to receive the mast I. The plates andturnbuckle assembly when thus properly adjusted are inserted as a unitloosely downwardly into the fiue {with the plate 6 sliding. along theadjacent wallsof one corner to be positioned snugly in said corner andwith the plate 5 positioned in the flue adjacent the diagonally oppositecorner. When the unit is so positioned in the flue, the straps ll) ofplate 5 and I5 of plate 6 will extend across and be hooked over adjacentportions of the top edge of the flue wall 4 as shown in Figure l. Themast l is then loosely inserted downwardly into the space between theplate 5 and the adjacent corner until its lower end seats on the seat 9of plate 5. The nut I9 is then rotated further in a direction toseparate the plates farther from each other and press the plate 6tightly against the walls of its adjacent corner andto press the plate 5into tight engagement with the mast l to thereby clamp the mast securelybetween said plate and the walls of the flue. Preferably spring washers20 and 2! are provided for locking the nuts l8 and I9 respectively intheir adjusted positions. To remove the mast I, the. nut 19 is turned inthe opposite direction or away from the end of the sleeve for retractionof the clamping plate 5 and consequent releasing of the mast, afterwhich the mast maybe. lifted out of the flue.

It will be noted that the lower end of the mast seats on the seat 9 ofplate 5 and that the edges of the wall of the body of said plate 5engage the mastv over a considerable area thereby firmly sup porting themast and securely clamping it against the, wall of the flue.

It, will. be understood that the mast l instead of being circular incross: section may be square, hexagonal or other shape in, which case.they clamping plate 5 will. be shaped to conform to or grip the outersurface; thereof.

The plates. with their straps are so shaped. that no damage; can resultto. the chimney and only the s raps arevisible. Furthermore the strapsin. addition to, supporting; the.- plates: prevent any tendency of theplates to turn out of alignment. with each other-or with the mast.

Due tothe interconnection between the plates 5 6, the weightot. the,mast and supported an tenna is distributed over both plates.

Whileonly one pair of clamping plates isshown for supporting. a singlemast, another pair of plates might be; installed in the other opposedcorners for supporting; another mast. It will also be understood. that,instead of supporting a mast, the improved apparatus, is capable ofsupporting fla poles, pipes and the like;

Changesindetails of construction might be 4 made without departing fromthe principle of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. Mounting for supporting a television mast in the flue of a chimneycomprising a pair of elongated plates semispherical in cross section,each plate having opposed straps at one end thereof for supporting theplate at the top of a chimney, one of said plates having a seat at itsopposite end for supporting the end of a mast, a laterally projectingstud on one of said plates, a laterally projecting tubular internallyscrew-threaded boss on the other of said plates, a tubular membersupported at one end on said stud, an externally screw-threaded rodslidable in said tubular member and having a portion protruding from oneend of said-tubular member, said protruding portion being in threadedengagement with said boss, and a nut on said protruding end of said rodto abut theend. of saidtubular member, whereby rotation of the nut inonedirection will spread the plates apart and rotation in the oppositedirection will permit them to move toward each other.

2. As an article of manufacture, a plate for supporting and clamping amast in the flue of a chimney or the like consisting of an elongatedbody having a concave face to engage the mast,

' ing a seat at its other end for supporting the end of a mast inupright position. I 3. Mounting for supporting a television mast in theflue of a chimney comprising a pair of. elongated plates semisphericalin cross section, a

laterally projecting stud on one of said plates, a, laterally projectingtubular internally screwthreaded boss on the other of said plates, atubular member supported at one end on said'. stud, an externallyscrew-threaded rod slidable in said tubular member and having a portionprotruding from one end of said tubular member, said protruding portionbeing in threaded engagement with said boss, and a nut on saidprotruding end of said rod to abut the end of said tubular member,whereby rotation. of the nut in one direction will spread the platesapart and rotation in the opposite direction will permit them to movetoward each. other.

FRANK R. FELBER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

